Double Vision
by Tithenion
Summary: Stange things are happening on the planet Malthius and Space Pirates are suspected. Samus, along with Adam, investigate, but what they will find out is a mystery. This story takes place before the original Metroid game. Rated M for violence.
1. Strange Activity

**This is my first venture into the world of fan-fics, so if you read this I'd greatly appreciate any reviews. Advice on my writing would be great too. I don't own Metroid or any characters from the games. Grandle and Kelshan, along with Malthius are my creations****,**** though.**

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It was deathly silent as Samus pressed her back against the wall of the dimly lit corridor in the labyrinth. As she tried to catch her breath, she scanned the room trying to see where it was. She knew it was still there somewhere, waiting. She had shot it many times, but it seemed that it was invincible. It was wearing her down. It was winning. Staying near the side of the corridor, she carefully approached an intersection. As she slid along the wall to the corner, she readied herself; she knew that she had to be quick. Her heart was pounding so she took a deep breath to calm herself. Then, she spun around the corner, only to find nothing was there. In the blink of an eye she turned to face the other direction expecting to see the thing charging toward her, but still there was nothing.

She was just about to start down the path when, suddenly, she heard a screech from the shadows above. Looking up, she found herself staring at a hideously twisted, bird-like face with glowing red eyes. It's long, slender arms clung to some piping that lined the ceiling. It was a Space Pirate! It jumped from the ceiling, slamming into her and sending her falling backwards with the creature on top. Thinking quickly, she used the momentum and rolled backwards as she flipped the thing off of her. Just as quickly as she gotten her balance though, it was on its feet again. This time she was determined to get the upper hand. Turning towards it, she charged at it full speed while unleashing a fury of shots as she tried to hold it at bay. Drawing near, she lowered her shoulder and slammed herself into it. Doing this sent the pirate sliding along the floor,

Taking this brief chance, she looked around quickly for a way to inflict some kind of damage to this thing. As she looked, she noticed the wires that lined the walls. _Perfect!_,she thought. She quickly ripped out some wires; this caused some of the light to go out making it even darker than it was before. She pulled them out enough so that the ends reached the floor. Backing off some, she aimed at the pipes above them and fired. This caused water to burst from the pipes and form a puddle where the wires were lying. The pirate had gotten back up and started advancing toward her by now. She ran in the opposite direction to put some distance between them, hoping that it would follow; it worked. The pirate charged forward, paying no attention to the electrified puddle of water. As its feet touched the water, it started jerking violently. Electrical waves were emitted forth from it with a brilliant light, causing the entire hallway to be lit for a moment. She watched as it collapsed to the floor with it's limbs sprawled out. She made sure to keep her distance from the water as she approached the motionless, mechanical space pirate and gave a sigh of relief. Suddenly, the lights came on fully and she heard a voice that came from seemingly everywhere.

"Bravo, Samus! I must admit you had me doubting you would find it's weakness for a moment, but you were able to pull yourself together and use your wits. Now, if you'd be so kind, after you get cleaned up, I'd like to have a word with you. I'll be in my office waiting when you're ready."

Her breathing was returning to normal now as she made her way out of the room. Heading towards the showers, she couldn't help but wonder what it was he had to say. She pondered on this as she removed her suit and quickly showered off the sweat she had worked up while fighting the in the training chamber. Soon she was dried off, dressed, and on her way to the General's office.

Stopping outside the door, she gave it a quick knock.

"Come in," said the voice from inside.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" said Samus as she slowly opened the door.

"Yes. Please, have a seat, Lady," he motioned towards the chair opposite his desk.

The office was nicely sized and had a window behind his desk which made up the entire wall. From here you could see various parts of the space station, as well as marvelous views of the nearby planets. The office itself was nicely furnished with a small couch as well as some comfortable chairs near the desk. In a cabinet on one side of the room sat several medals and trophies.

Making her way over to his desk, she sat down in a chair and tried to get comfortable.

"First of all," he said, looking sternly at Samus, "about your performance back there. While you did eventually find the weakness of the "pirate", you took longer than you should have."

She sighed at hearing this. _I knew he would say that_, she thought.

"I know you've dealt with stuff like this before and you've obviously survived but, while you are quite a gifted warrior, you're still young and you still need to improve on areas other than pure combat."

"So… what? Are you saying I need to think more when I fight, like I had to do back there?"

"Yes," he nodded in reply. "That's why I had the robot designed to only be susceptible to electric shock. You've done a marvelous job as long as I've known you. I'm not trying to put you down, I just want to pass on my knowledge. I would hate to see something happen to you." he said as he looked at her a little more gently now.

She couldn't help but smile a little. "Thanks. So... is that all you wanted to see me about?" she asked as she started to stand up.

"No, I have something more important I wanted to speak to you about."

She sat back down again looking at him with curiosity.

"Alright, I know you're curious now so I'll get right to the point. There have been reports of some strange activity involving space pirates on Malthius. I can't go into much detail at the moment, but I just wanted to give you a heads up on the matter."

"Why is that?" she asked.

"Well, I had thought that I would have you look into it," he said, then quickly added. "That is, _if_ the mission is approved by the Commander."

"Is it important?" she was hoping it would be. She had been looking forward to getting some action for awhile now.

"I believe that the others think it's nothing to really worry about, but I think there's more to it than meets the eye. I can't tell you everything just yet, though I did figure that you would be interested. You should come to a quick meeting tomorrow I will be holding on this matter. Everything that is known will be explained then."

"Well, I guess I can squeeze it into my busy schedule," she said sarcastically with a grin on her face. "What time should I be there?"

"Be there at 7:00 a.m. on the dot!"

"I'll be there. Good night, sir," she said as she got up and walked towards the door.

"Good night," he nodded as she exited the office.

After returning to her apartment for the night, she fixed herself up a nice little supper and sat down to watch the news while she ate. The apartment was very simple and plain. It was just a place on the Federation's space station that they had arranged for her to stay in while working with them. She looked as if she was watching the news as she ate, but she was really just staring blankly at it while her mind was drifting and thinking of other things. She couldn't concentrate on the news so, after she finished eating, she decided she would try to unwind by writing in her journal before going to bed.

--Samus' Journal Log. d10.19--

_It's been awhile since I've seen some action, but it looks like I could be getting a mission soon. Could this finally be my chance for payback against that retched beast, Ridley? Ugh... It sends chills down my spine just thinking of him. Even just the faint memories that come to mind are unbearable. I've tried to block most of it out, but sometimes those memories manage to get back in my head. Those images of him... no. They're too much for me to handle. I probably shouldn't even worry about it. He may not even be involved. I've got to try to get my mind off of this now._

_The reason I had begun working with the Federation to begin with was because I thought that it would be easier for me to hunt the space pirates down instead of working alone. I still remember that first day when I met Adam. He seemed impressed from what he had heard of me. The look on his face though when he found out that under that power suit was a sixteen year-old girl... it was priceless. I think that had he found that out before hand he wouldn't have given me a real chance. _

_He reminded me of my Father and, even now, he still does. I can't recall all that much about him, but I do remember what he looked like and I know he resembles him. He was a tall, well built man with broad shoulders. His flattop hair was dark brown and I remember the stubble on his cheeks that would rub against my face when he held me close. Adam looks much the same aside from the fact that his hair is now starting to turn a little gray, giving a peppered look to it. I remember that, for the first time since that dreadful day, I felt as if I was with my Father again. It sounds silly I know, but I sort of think of him as something of a father now that I have no one else close to me. We've grown to know each other well and trust each other over the past two years we've worked together. He's very intelligent and he has taught me much since I have come here. I'm starting to get tired now so I'll head off to bed and get some rest. Tomorrow morning could be interesting._

The next morning Samus awoke to the sound of her alarm clock; it was 6:00 a.m. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and proceeded to get out of bed and fix some breakfast. After eating a good sized meal, she took a quick shower to fully wake herself before heading out to the meeting. She hurried herself, not only to make it there in time, but also because she was itching with the anticipation of finding out more of what was going on. Upon arriving, she was greeted by Adam who was waiting outside for her to arrive.

"Good morning, Lady," he greeted her with a smile as he opened the door for her.

"Good morning, sir," she replied.

"The others are already here, so if you'll go ahead and take a seat we'll begin."

She entered the room and saw that two others were already seated at a large table. The room itself was big and long. There was an enormous monitor at the end of the room that was used to show maps and graphics for visual aid. For privacy reasons, no windows were in the room so there were several lights lined along the ceiling to provide sufficient lighting. At the head of the table was Commander Grandle. He was mostly bald aside from the little bit of white hair on the back of his head. His moustache matched his hair and his face was somewhat hard and cold. In his eyes you could see the wear of the years of battle he had endured. He was now somewhere near seventy years-old. The man on the right was General Kelshan; a hefty, red-haired man whose face was a bit long and sported a goatee. Adam took a seat opposite of Kelshan. Samus followed and sat down next to him.

"Now, General Malkovich has gathered us here due to the reported activity of space pirates on the planet Malthius," said the Commander, motioning towards Adam. "So, let's get straight to bussiness. From what I have heard, I do not believe there to be much more than a few space pirates trying at another sad raid attempt. The Malthians have given no distress signal, so I assume that they are able to handle themselves adequately. With that said, my question to you General is, why would you wish to waste this young girl's talent on such a useless trip? There are many things that are much more important she could tend to."

Samus looked over to Adam, but remained quiet and continued to listen.

"Well, I can see how it would be so easy to assume that, sir," Adam replied as he looked over his papers. "I have looked more closely into this though and I've found some interesting things. First of all," he said as he pressed a button, bringing up his reports on the screen. "I found that, while there have indeed been reports of space pirate activity on the planet, the Malthians themselves have given no report of any attack."

"Well, maybe they just didn't feel they needed to notify anyone," suggested Kelshan.

"Ah, but they are usually quick to report any attacks," Adam pointed out.

"So what are you suggesting?" asked Grandle as he thought it over. "That they've been killed off?"

"It's possible," Adam paused to think for a second. "That would explain why we haven't heard from them. They may have been attacked too quickly to have time to call for help. It wouldn't take a very large force to wipe them out, especially with space pirates. It could have been quite easy to make landfall on the planet without the Malthian's knowledge. At which point, it would be easy for the pirates to dispatch of them."

"So then, if that is the case, what would the space pirates be after?" asked Kelshan, "As far as I know, there is nothing of value to be found on that planet."

"That," Adam paused and sighed, "I can not answer. I've tried to find a reason, only to have come up with nothing. I just have a feeling though that something is not right here," he said looking at the Commander.

Grandle noticed the look he gave him and sat in thought for a moment before speaking again. "I guess your ideas are credible. You seem to have researched this matter enough," he paused and let out a small sigh. "If you feel this strongly about it, I suppose I'll grant permission allowing you and Samus to investigate the situation. I haven't known you to be wrong on things such as this, so I guess there is no reason to distrust your judgement now."

"Thank you, sir!" said Adam nodding his head. "Now," he said turning to Samus, "before we end this, do you have any questions, Lady?"

She thought for a second to make sure that she hadn't missed anything important. Then she looked at Adam and replied, "The only question I have is when do we leave?"

"Always ready for action," said Adam giving her a small grin. "With the President's permission, I would like to set out today as soon as possible." he turned to look at Grandle.

He nodded his head. "I'll have your ship ready for you before noon. That should leave you time to prepare for the trip. Kelshan, do you have any more questions?" he asked looking at him.

"No, sir," he said shaking his head.

"Very good then. Meeting adjourned!"

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**So, if you took the time to read this I'd be grateful if you let me know what you think. **

**I had the idea way back to try and trick the readers into thinking she was actually fighting a real pirate when in reality it was only her training. Hopefully that worked out.**

**I basically used this first chapter to help set some things up and explain just a little about Samus and Adam. I tried to show that Samus has a hard time dealing with the pain that Ridley has caused, though not too much... yet. Also, as you can see, she tends looked at Adam as a kind of a father figure since she has no family left. **

**After I make sure everything with this chapter is straightened up I'll get to work on the next one. Hopefully I'll see all of you again then.**


	2. Malthius

**Well, it's been what, almost a year and a half now? If anybody was interested in the first chapter I apologize for the long wait. I got occupied with other things and busy with college. Hopefully this time I'll keep the evil procrastination away and stick with it. Hopefully at least the time I took will have paid off. As before, I don't own Metroid or anything from the games. Malthius and a new character in this chapter are my creations.**

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Adam and Samus blazed through space in the Federation ship, the Astraeus. The ship was a gray color and was not one of the larger ones of the Federation's fleet, but was still a pretty good sized ship. Samus stood gazing out of the window as they came out of hyperspace. Her eyes grew wide with fascination as she stared at a large portion of space in front of her that was void of any stars. As they approached this spot in space she saw small islands of green appearing, looking as if they were just floating among the dark void. In reality, this was just a unique deception that is played upon the eyes. The black space among the stars was actually the planet Malthius itself. A large portion of the planet was covered in a hard, black substance called sabilinth. As for the islands of green, these were not unlike oases that would be found in a desert, having the only trees, grass, and water on the planet.

Adam switched on the cloaking mechanism so that their ship would not be spotted. As they broke through the atmosphere and drew closer to the planet's service, Samus was able to make out mountains and valleys amidst the sea of black. From higher one wouldn't even be aware of shifts in elevation, but now at their height you could begin to make out the shapes. Wanting to stay hidden for the time being, Adam landed the ship in a valley which was not too far from one of the larger oases.

"Alright," said Adam as he turned towards Samus. "I want you to keep a low profile and proceed to the main city. It's in the nearby oasis. We're currently south-west of the city. Lucky for us it is mid-day and there is plenty of light. At night it becomes very difficult to make out where the ground is or isn't due to most of the planet being black. During the day, though, the light helps make things pretty clear.

"When you come near the city, follow along with it to your left and you should eventually come to a temple. Once there, I want you to see if any of the Malthians are harbored inside and, if so, get any information possible from them. We need to know what's been going on here. I want you to proceed with caution, though. Space Pirates could very well be in the vicinity. I'll keep in touch, as usual. Any objections, Lady?"

"No, sir," she replied with a grin hidden behind her visor and opened the elevator door which led to the outside. She pressed a few buttons, stepped inside, and then instantly dropped down.

Adam returned to his seat in the control room and flipped on the audio-visual communications. "Testing, testing. Lady, do you read me?"

"Yes, sir, crystal clear," she slowly replied. She was looking around at the magnificent landscape. Even within a simple valley as they were, the light that shone from the sabilinth created an odd beauty.

"Anything wrong?"

"No," she jerked herself back to her full senses, "I'm on my way." With that, she set off at a brisk but careful pace, making sure to watch for any Pirates that could be hiding among the darkened areas that were hidden from the sun. As she proceeded, the cliffs on either side of her slowly began to decline. Occasionally she would spot something among the shadows, but every time it turned out to be a simple creature peeking out from a hole (or at least she assumed a hole was there in the shadows since the creatures seemed to be able to disappear quite easily).

Soon she came to what was like a low wall that formed out of the edge of a small cliff. Over that wall and down the cliff she could see the main city. There were wonderful buildings, some obviously houses, surrounded by lush plants and trees that shaded them from the sun. To the right and further in was a very clear blue pool of water with small streams of water branching off in various directions through the city. Looking more closely, she saw that a few of the homes looked to have crumbled in places, and one of the larger buildings had completely collapsed on one corner, leaving a rather good sized hole.

"Sir, do you see this? I'm going to go take a closer look and see what I can find." she said anxiously.

"Wait…" he said as he looked thoughtfully at the monitor. "No, continue to the temple as planned. The leader would be there, not in the city, and he or somebody of higher status is who we should first be concerned with."

"But sir, what if there are Malthians down there that need to be helped? What if I just…"

"No," he cut Samus off before she could finish. "Going down in the open when you don't even know if it will do any good is foolish. It's the perfect spot for an ambush if Space Pirates happen to be nearby, and seeing this only helps confirm my suspicions. If any good can be done, the best place to do so is at the temple."

She stared at the run down houses, imagining the families that would have lived there. "Sir I just…"

"The temple! Do not argue with your commanding officer!"

To this she didn't reply, she just slowly turned from the city and made her way along the edge of the cliff, taking one last look upon the place as she went. Looking ahead now, for the first time she could see it. A tall structure made of the black sabilinth rose out of the base of a mountain. The temple seemed to shine even brighter than the rest of the strange black substance that was exposed to the light.

After uneventfully making her way forward, she eventually reached the front of the temple with still no sign of intelligent life. "You would think I would have seen at least one Space Pirate by now if they really are the ones responsible," she spoke quietly to Adam.

"That's what worries me…" he replied concernedly.

Climbing the steps, she looked up. The top of the temple towered high above her. Inside the entrance she found a large hall with seven large columns on either side, spaced out perfectly down the great hall. On each column there hung a bright crystal which illuminated the entire stretch from floor to ceiling. She had a difficult time keeping her senses focused on watching for signs of movement due to being drawn into the beauty of it all. She had not been in such a place for a long time. It reminded her somewhat of the Chozo temples she grew up around.

Bringing herself back, she pressed on down the hall. Doors could be seen all along the sides, but she didn't bother turning towards these. The place she was going was the large archway with double doors at the end of the room. Laying her hand gently on the door and pushing ever so slightly forward she found that it was open. Very quickly then, she pushed it fully open while backing up a step and aiming her arm cannon inside. Seeing nothing, she walked forward, aiming to the left and right as she entered.

Nobody was in the large room that appeared to be a shrine. She walked around the room which was lit by more crystals hanging on the walls. There were statues carved into the walls, and directly across from the door was an altar. The strangest thing was the computers that lined the right hand wall. She found logs entered into one and, sure enough, it was in the language of the Space Pirates. She quickly scanned it to translate.

Log mtotk10 - Mine Progress

Karpathium income and transfer is up 115 from last log. The rise is due to the recent addition of more Malthians that were found hiding among nearby caves. Search teams are still combing the area for any stragglers left behind. The team on Twin Tabula is producing results, but they are still in need of more resources, so this new increase is much needed. We are now putting more effort into the smaller sites around the planet to help with this as well. They…

Samus heard something stir behind her. She whipped around to find nothing, though she was sure she had heard something near the doorway. "Show yourself!"

"I mean no harm to you," replied a rough voice. A humanoid creature with four arms stepped into view. Its skin was blue, if you could call it skin. It looked more like muscle, and his body was somewhat larger than a human. At the end of his fingers were no nails, only rough skin. His face was thin and rough looking with a head that was perfectly bald, not a single hair on it. He looked worn out and tired.

Samus looked into his yellow eyes. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lamanith. I am a Malthian escaped from the Space Pirates," his eyes were twitching slightly. "And you are…?"

"I'm Samus Aran and I'm with the Galactic Federation. Now what did you say? Escaped from where?" she asked.

"From the mines. We are being forced to do the work of the Space Pirates. Did you say the Galactic Federation? They are with you?" he sounded very anxious.

"No, they…" she started but was interrupted.

"But you can still help, right!? Please, you must help us!" he begged.

"Calm down, it's alright," she tried to sound as assuring as possible. "How many Space Pirates are in these mines?"

"Not many. Not at the moment," his body gave slight jerks and twitches all over. "There are only enough to keep the miners under control. I was lucky enough to sneak out after having broken my bonds."

"What about your leader? Is he in the mines as well?"

"Yes, yes," he replied, "he's there as well. You must help him!"

"Alright, can you show me where to find these mines? Are you able?"

"Yes, I am alright," said Lamanith. "The mines are through a hidden passage in this room."

"You need to be careful if you go into the mines," said Adam so that only she could hear. "You should hurry and go help the others quickly before more Space Pirates turn up."

"Lead the way then." she said to Lamanith. He walked passed her and to the altar at the back of the room where he pressed a few symbols that were carved into it. There was a rumbling sound a then the statue began sliding to the side, revealing a passageway that led further down and back into the temple. With him in the lead, they both entered the tunnel, which was lit by the same sources of light as the rest of the temple. She was curious about what she had read in the log and so after a moment she quietly asked him, "What is this karpathium that the Space Pirates are mining for? I've never heard of it."

"Ah, so you know of what they mine for?" he gave a whispered laugh. "Karpathium is extremely rare and valuable. You know the sabilinth, the black substance which this very temple is made of? Well, it absorbs the light from the sun," he turned down a path that branched to the left. "This temple was designed to harness the light and channel it deep into the sabilinth where, over time, the light would cause it to transform in what is known as karpathium. It has numerous uses, one of those being the very crystals that are providing us with light. These are nothing compared to what they can become, though," his body gave another twitch.

"So do you know what it is the Pirates want it for?" she whispered as they continued down the tunnel.

"I have a guess, though it…" he suddenly fell forward onto his face, his body then began trembling all over.

"What's wrong!?" Samus leaned down to help him. "Can you talk?" she quickly asked, shocked by his sudden fit.

"I… I will… be fine," he spoke with quick breaths. "Go on… continue on without me… You… will find the mines easily.

"Are you sure?" she was skeptical about that. He didn't seem fine at all.

"Yes… Don't worry about me. This is not… something rare to me. Go… and try to save… the others." he continued twitching and shaking all over.

"Stay here until I get back, or if there is any way you are able, go back to a safer place and wait for me," she told him as she stood up to leave. She thought she saw him nod his head but between all of the other movement it was hard to tell. Leaving him behind, she proceeded onward with a slightly quickened pace, hoping to not leave him alone for too long. Through the tunnel she went as it wound down and back ever further when she came to an area that was more opened up where the lights were dim. She could see that there was more than one passageway and had just started trying to figure out which way to take when everything went dark. Chilling growls surrounded her in the darkness and then suddenly a colorful flash of light flooded her vision. Samus stumbled back a step from what had apparently been a beam attack.

She heard Adam speaking to her but she couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to what he was saying. Immediately she opened fired on any sound she heard, hoping to connect with her attackers. Cries of pain let her know that at least some of her shots had found their mark. She began moving around to try and make a harder target of herself because, whether through natural eyesight or aided by technology, her enemies were consistently coming close to hitting her. With beams of light coming from everywhere now, the darkness was giving way just enough to make out shadowy figures of the Space Pirates which allowed her to score a few more hits.

As she constantly tried to keep moving, Samus wound up running straight into one of the Pirates, sending them both tumbling to the floor. There was a brief wrestling match between the two with them rolling and trying to keep the other from shooting at point blank range. It wasn't long before she was able to overpower him and gain the upper hand, but just as she was about to blast him to his death she was knocked over the head with some large, heavy object. She instantly began to feel dizzy and tried to fire off shots in an attempt to get lucky and hit somebody, but whether or not any of her blasts found their targets she wouldn't know. Distant growls could be heard then silence soon joined the darkness as her mind faded from consciousness.

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**I had a tough time with this, at least in the beginning. Trying to figure out what exactly I wanted to happen and all, and then trying to keep it from being too boring in getting there was probably the worst. The action should definitely pick up in the chapters to come. Of course, any reviews and comments are welcome and much appreciated. **


	3. Captured

**Alright, so some of you may notice that this is not the same chapter 3 as it was before. I had not been totally satisfied with what I had done before (I rarely am anyway) and with a few people saying it could use some work, I decided that I would go back and edit the chapter. The result is this.**

**I do not own Samus or Adam or any such thing found in the Metroid universe, but anything to do with Malthius or Malthians are my creation.**

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A steady humming and sounds of clicking and beeping could be heard. All was dark, but it was not because the room was so, but because Samus had just begun to regain consciousness and felt like she still couldn't open her eyes just yet. She felt somewhat weak and could feel a knot on the back of her head that was throbbing. She instinctively tried to reach for the back of her head but found that she could move neither of her arms. In fact, she was entirely immobile. Finally she opened her eyes, only to have to squint because of the bright lights in the room.

As her vision began to clear, she saw computer equipment throughout the room along with a few Space Pirates who were working at various things. Her head was the only thing that could move, and that was just barely, but it was enough so that she could see she was confined to some sort of table that was standing upright. Both her arms and legs were locked firmly in place to the table along with something else strapping her abdomen in place as well. In fact, even when she tried to use her arm cannon it wouldn't work.

_Space slime! What have they done to my suit!? _Her suit indeed seemed to be rendered ineffective, even to the point where she couldn't contact Adam. Trying to keep calm and not lose her senses, she began to look around more closely to see if there was any means of escape. Two of the Pirates were still working at whatever they were doing with the computers, but one was now coming towards her, pulling her attention away from the rest of the room.

The Pirate began to reach out for her and she started to squirm, but to no avail; she was powerless to do anything. He started running his claws across her armor and examining her suit. "Keep your filthy paws off of me you piece of crap!" she yelled, but the Pirate just stuck his face up in hers and gave a nasty snarl, baring his teeth with saliva stringing down from the roof of his mouth to his tongue. She could only imagine what foul smell was coming out of that creature's mouth and she was glad that at the very least her helmet provided a barrier between them. Still, the thought of this monster placing his grimy claws all over her precious suit disgusted her almost as much as if it was her own body because, in a way, it really was a part of her. She wanted so bad just to blast the head off of his shoulders.

Soon the Pirate moved over to where one of his comrades was working at the computers. They began conversing with each other in their own language; it had a harsh and grinding sound to it. Samus tried to listen but with her suit powered down she had no way to translate what they were saying and her actual knowledge of the Pirate's language was very limited what with her relying on her suit for that sort of thing.

After a moment the one at the computer pressed a few buttons and flipped a few switches, causing a humming sound to come from the contraption that Samus was strapped to. She knew that this couldn't be good at all. Next thing she knew she began to feel a weird feeling, as if her suit were being powered, but not in its usual way. Suddenly a quick jolt of electricity zapped her entire body. She yelped in pain, but there continued to be periodic currents of electricity that were electrocuting her suit along with her. The Pirates seemed to be ignoring her completely and focusing on something that was on their monitors.

Just as the shocks were beginning to move from something more of an annoying to actual pain, the entire room went dark. There was a moment where everything was silent and then she could hear the sound of the Pirates scrambling around in the dark. Just then she realized something. Her suit's information was showing on her visor; it had power again. Acting quickly, she began to charge up her arm cannon, causing the energy build up to break the cuff that was holding that arm in place. The flash and the shattering of metal got the attention of the Pirates, but Samus was already ahead of them and quickly but carefully took out the remaining bonds that held her in place.

Landing on her feet, she quickly tried to gain her balance and stand. It wasn't easy after being in that position for so long, but that didn't hold her back for more than two seconds. She stood and fired off a volley of shots throughout the room to provide some light for her to spot where the Space Pirates were at in the room. One of the shots fired off managed to find the arm of one of the Pirates causing him to scream in pain. Without letting another second pass, she fired off more shots in the area where she had just seen the three creatures standing. Two of them fell swiftly, but the last managed to dive out of the way and behind the cover of a table that had been knocked over. Grinning behind her visor, Samus knelt down and charged another shot, releasing it directly in the center of the table, propelling it backwards and into the wall, crushing the unlucky Pirate in between.

Knowing that the ruckus would most likely draw unwanted attention, she quickly made her way out of the room and dodged in out and of a few rooms. She tried to contact Adam, but for some reason she was unable to get a response. _Shoot! Why does this stuff always have to crap out when I really need it? _Before she was able to worry about that problem any longer she realized that she had come upon a hall of prison cells. Samus stopped for a moment and looked over her shoulder, listening to hear if there was anything in pursuit. Satisfied that she at least had some time before being discovered, she walked down the hall, peeking through the small windows to see if any of the cells were inhabited.

After passing several cells that were empty she came upon one in which she saw what appeared to be an old Malthian. She glanced back towards the entrance once more before deciding to give a quick tap on the door. At first the cell's inhabitant didn't respond, but after a second time she could see the Malthian stirring and looking toward her. At first it seemed to not want to approach, not knowing whether this strange new face meant harm or not, but upon realizing that this was not the face of a Space Pirate, the Malthian wearily stood up and approached the door.

The alien spoke in a dialect unfamiliar to her, and though her suit was equipped to translate a number of languages, she decided to respond in her own language since she knew that most species were familiar with this common dialect. "I'm Samus Aran. I was sent by the Federation to see what was going on here and help if I could, but I ran into a little trouble back there. Are you ok?"

"Yes, yes, I am alright at least for the moment. My name is Kathnar Nochtlan, High Priest and leader of Malthius. Rather, I should now saw _was_," he added. His voice was raspy, whether natural or from lack of water Samus didn't know. But it was also calm despite the situation he was in.

"Can't get much luckier than that," she remarked half to herself. "You're just the person I was looking for. Do you happen to know where exactly we're at?"

"Indeed. We are currently deep within the mountain behind our temple in one of the Space Pirates' ships. I believe they intend to leave sometime in the near future once they have the ship prepared. You say that you had some trouble. Did you have an encounter with the Space Pirates?"

"Yeah, let's just say I'm surprised to be alive right now. I'm lucky that they've apparently taken an interest to my suit and only were holding me captive to inspect it. Though how long they would have kept me around I dunno."

"Well, thank the heavens that you are alright," he continued with his calm speech, just as if he were sitting in a cozy room with a nice drink in hand.

"Yeah, it was rather lucky. By the way, where are the other Malthians? I didn't notice any in the other cells just now."

"Ah, they would all be deeper in the tunnels mining for the karpathium. The Space Pirates are using them as slaves to aid them in getting what they want. First they weakened them so that they could not rise up against them, and then they put them to work. The only reason I am here is because I am too valuable for them to risk killing."

"So wait," she paused for a second to think. "They've got all of you? I was shown how to get into secret passage under the temple by one of your people. He said his name was Lamanith. He must have escaped."

"Lamanith, hmm? May I inquire as to his appearance?" he asked thoughtfully.

"He had a well built body, yellow eyes, bald—" he held up his hand, cutting her off.

"I thought as much once you mentioned him," he sighed, changing his tone for the first time. It was a tone of loathing. That was not one who had been captured." Samus cocked her head to the side. "His true name is Velkan Trizar. It was not until after the invasion that I learned of the truth behind him.

"A number of years ago a male of our kind forcefully took a human female to wed. They were shunned from our society for this, as was their child that came soon after. The genetics of the Malthian and Human race mixed together to create a hybrid of sorts, a thing that was frowned upon even more so by our kind. One day not long after the child had come of age he disappeared, though unfortunately that was not to be the last we would see of him.

"Apparently he found a home with the Space Pirates. He returned to our planet changed, unrecognizable to us as the outcast that had left us. He looked no different than I or any others and so we thought nothing of this newcomer. Very intelligent he was and so he gained our trust, though there were oddities about him that I am quite sure would not have gone without notice to you.

"He learned more in addition to the previous knowledge he already possessed and with that he was able to use it against us. He disabled any way of successfully alerting about the attack while using his knowledge to aid the Pirates in easily taking our cities. We never stood a real chance due to his betrayal, though as Malthians we fought with more heart than one would expect of those in such circumstances."

"That scumbag! I can't believe I didn't see through him," she was aggravated with herself.

"Do not trouble yourself. As I said, he is quite intelligent, as well as sly. I know not who to name the worst, him or that monstrous flying beast that led their attack," he said the latter part somewhat to himself.

"Wait, a flying beast!? Who is it? What'd he look like?"

"I do not know who or what he is exactly, only that he is obviously highly ranked among the Space Pirates. I have not ever seen a creature such as him in all my years, only have I heard tales of such things. He is some sort of space dragon."

"Ridley!" Samus growled. "He's not here now, is he!?"

"I do not think so, though I only know what I hear that goes around. He has not shown himself here much since the attack. He seems to have checked in on how things are running once or twice but then he is on his way yet again."

She looked around as if she were expecting to see him tear into the hall. No, chances are he wasn't here. Whether she was glad about that or not, she couldn't decide. What she did know was that she was in the ship that belonged to Space Pirates, in an area that was likely infested them, and she had found the leader of the Malthians. The problem was getting out of there, not just worrying about herself, but him as well. And then there was the other Malthians. No, she couldn't do that all on her own.

"High Priest Nochtlan, are you strong enough to come with me if I help you escape?"

"With the amount of Space Pirates that would be around? No, I think not. I am too weakened from my stay here with a limited amount of food."

"I was afraid of that. Look, there should help coming from the Federation shortly. I don't think you will be in any trouble if you stay put, but me on the other hand…. They're looking for me after some of the mess I made back there."

"That is probably for the best. I am old enough as is, in my weakened state I would only hinder you and put us both in danger. Go, help yourself for now. If you find any of my people, I beg that you would aid them as well, though."

"Of course. I better go now before I overstay my welcome in this area and put you in danger. I promise help will come for you."

"Thank you Samus Aran, and may the gods bless you."

"Thank you," she bowed her head slightly before turning back for the exit. She needed to find the way out of this ship. Hopefully that way wouldn't provide too much resistance, but right now she didn't hold too much hope for such luck.

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**For those that still care, hopefully this was good enough after such a long time. No? Too little after so much time? I agree. I really need to try and write more if I'm ever going to improve and at least finish this story so I can go back and revise it later. So, since it has been so long, I've decided to put up some more. Please read on.**


	4. Red Alert

**If you're reading this thinking that it's a new chapter….. well, it's a bit different in places, but it's almost identical to the second half of what was previous the third chapter. What used to be the first half of the third chapter was changed very much and is now its own chapter, so go back and read that before this. If you just starting reading this story in 2009, then disregard all of this.**

**Again, I do not own Samus, Adam, or any of the characters or anything found within the Metroid universe. I merely claim ownership the inventions of this story, such as Malthius and its inhabitants.**

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In the area just outside the prison cells, she found herself in a small corridor with a door on the other end and one to the side. The one on the end was where she had come from, so she chose the door to her right. Shooting the door and causing it to open for her, she stepped through only to stop just inside the next room. She found herself in what appeared to be a control room and directly in front of her were two Pirates, one of which was just then turning its head around to look at her. They both just stood there staring at each other for a second before one dared to move.

The Pirate was the first to act, releasing a ferocious roar that caused the other Pirate to whirl around as well. Other roars sounded from elsewhere in the room, but she had no time to worry about that just yet. Both her and the two Pirates opened fire at the same time, all of them dodging to the side and avoiding each others' shots. Samus rapidly fired off a line of shots across the path of the two Pirates, catching each of them a little and slowing them down. With this small opening, she focused her attack on the one to her left which was now standing on top of a desk where some computers were set up. A few well placed shots to the head sent him falling lifeless to the floor in a tangle of wires.

While she had removed her attention from the other Pirate it had taken cover behind a beam and started firing at her with alarming accuracy now that it could stand still and focus. A few of the shots connected with her shoulder, though her power suit protected her from most of the damage, only allowing her to feel what was like a small punch.

At first she did not see her attacker, but as she scanned the room she spotted him barely sticking out from his hiding spot. Not only did she see him, but other Pirates were visible on the level above and were on their way down to join the fray. She needed a better position or, even better, a way out of there. Running to avoid the beams coming at her, she quickly looked around the large room trying to find another door. "Aha! Of course it _has_ to be all the way up there," she rolled her eyes.

Running towards the small elevator platform, she fired a few shots at the legs of one of the Pirates on the next level up causing its leg to give out and fall to the floor below, impaling it on tall, thin piece of equipment. As she stepped into the hologram on the platform, it started to rise and take her to the second level.

Just as her head peaked over the floor she saw a Pirate flying at her in mid-leap. She attempted to raise her arm cannon to blast it out of the air, but wasn't left with enough time to react and fell to the ground under the force of the vile creature. It grabbed and clawed at her, trying to hold her still for some reason. Out of the corner of her eye she saw what that reason was; another Pirate was on his way to aid his comrade.

Ignoring the clawing and scratching from the Pirate on top of her that seemed to be doing minimal damage, she kept her eye on the other as he approached and prepared to attack what he thought was a helpless target. The instant that he released a series of blasts from his weapon Samus grabbed the Pirate that was straddling her and forced it to her side, causing it to receive the gunfire intended for her. Blood sprayed across her visor hindering her vision for a moment, but otherwise she had momentarily avoided trouble yet again.

Leaving no time for the shock of the other Pirate to wear off from her quick little trick, she threw herself to her feet and sprinted to the opposite side of the room, making her way to another elevator. Unfortunately, this one didn't seem to be working and remained firmly planted on the floor of which she stood. Spying some pipes slightly higher off to the side of the platform she was on, she quickly decided to make a jump for them, just barely making it and steadying herself as she felt a shot hit her in the midsection, almost causing her to fall down to the bottom floor.

Quickly glimpsing the snarling Pirate that was rushing toward her, she left it no chance to score any more hits and leapt yet again, this time reaching the top floor where the door was located. She quickly fired to open it up and made her way out of the room. Just as she passed through, she heard the door down below opening and more roars reached her ears. _Just great,_ she thought and added an extra burst of speed as she sped through to the other end of the corridor where another door was waiting for her. Luckily for her, inside was just the kind of elevator she was looking for; one that led to another floor. She pressed the button to go to the bottom floor, where she expected the exit of the ship should be.

She caught her breath while she had the chance as the elevator moved down the shaft. Then, when she was about halfway down, red lights began to flash along with the sounding of an alarm. She cursed as she closed her eyes and threw her head back. As the elevator stopped at the bottom and the door opened, she found herself staring out into a small, open room. Beyond that was an area where things could be loaded onto the ship and, of course, it was now crawling with Space Pirates. She was met with a rumble growls and fierce glowing eyes all staring at her now.

Without wasting even a second she aimed at a group of Pirates straight ahead and fired a missile directly into the center of them. They had no time to react and the one at the front took the brunt of the blast, bowling over most of the others as he was forced backwards. Before the missile had even made contact with its target, Samus was out of the elevator and on her way to some cover behind a pile of crates.

Taking a quick peek from behind her cover, she saw some canisters of the type that usually held explosives, and as luck would have it there were several Pirates in that immediate area. Not too far from her were some more crates so she prepared to make a run for it. As soon as she had revealed herself there were beam blasts from all directions coming toward her. She aimed as fast as possible and let another missile fly at her target and then did a somersault into the air attempting to avoid the shots fired at her. Before she had landed, the missile found its destination and caused a large explosion, instantly killing any Pirates that were directly by the blast and severely burning those that were in the vicinity. Roars grew louder and beams flooded the air more than ever despite having killed and wounded over a dozen Pirates now.

She looked around to try and formulate some plan of action. The next thing she knew, she heard a pair of thumps and then she saw gnarled faces not two feet away from her own. These Pirates were wielding scythe-like weapons which were currently inches from her body. Reacting on instinct the second that this had happened, she jammed her arm cannon forward and landed it squarely in the face of one of her attackers. It staggered backwards, his face covered in blood that ran down and off of it; he was even uglier than before despite her not thinking it was possible.

The other Pirate grabbed hold of her outstretched arm and locked its grip with surprising strength for something so scrawny looking. She tried to wrench her arm away but another Pirate jumped from a platform above and toppled them all over in a tangle of limbs. Now that it was two to one with her on the bottom, Samus was having difficulty doing much of anything that would help her out of this predicament. She glowered through her visor at the eyes that were glaring back at her. "Get your filthy paws off of me you scum!" she shouted. Soon another face staggered into view, one that was severely mangled and bloody.

Samus was starting to feel like all hope was lost as she began feeling the battle take its toll on her suit, but just as the third Pirate was about to join in on the melee, a loud noise sounded throughout the area and the sound of guns blazed in. The Pirates that were on and around her momentarily lost their concentration due to the sudden surprise and allowed her to gain the advantage and shove them off of her. Quickly rolling backwards and standing back up, she saw where the sound had originated from; it was Adam in the Astraeus.

Samus grinned and let loose a volley of shots of her own while Adam used the guns on the ship to tear through the other Pirates in the area. Between the two of them they were able to clean up the filth in the area, allowing Adam to quickly land. Knowing that more Pirates would likely be on their way, Samus ran to the ship as Adam lowered the platform for her to board. Once inside, she staggered into the room with Adam and plopped herself down in a seat, taking her helmet off and letting her blonde hair fall to her shoulders. "You know, I _could've_ finished 'em off on my own. I was just about give 'em a real piece of me," she remarked with a heavy air of sarcasm.

"Oh yeah, and I'm sure they would've taken a few more pieces themselves afterwards," his face remaining straight aside from the gleam in his eyes as he cut them toward her. Normally she would have said something back, but the ship started shaking with impacts from beam blasts as more Pirates arrived. "Let's get outta here. You ok?"

"It's me. I'll be fine," she tried to cover with a smile as she winced.

Not wasting any time, Adam maneuvered the Astraeus with excellent control and sped out of the landing area. Rising out of the mountains, he they began to explain to each other what had happened while she had been unable to communicate.

"Not very long after you were ambushed, a ship took off and left the atmosphere. It was different… It didn't belong to the Pirates and it definitely wasn't Malthian design. Or any other I've seen for that matter. The craft must have been custom built. I think I know the general direction it was headed but--" he broke off as something flashed across their veiw and slammed their ship, causing them to momentarily lose control.

Adam had just regained control of the ship when they were rocked yet again. There was something showing up on their scanners but they weren't able to see it. Picking up speed, they headed away from the surface and broke through the atmosphere. Still not having shaken whatever it was that would not give up on its pursuit, Adam prepared to make the jump to light-speed.

Before he was ready to make the jump, Samus looked out the window to try and get a glimpse of their attacker and almost leapt back at what she saw; piercing yellow-orange slits for eyes and a mouthful a razor-sharp teeth. "Ridley…" she said almost inaudibly and standing frozen in place. Horrible images flashed through her mind. Images that sent shivers running down her spine. It took her a moment to snap out of it before she could actually put any force into her voice. "It's Ridley!" she yelled this time.

"What!?" Adam jerked his head around toward her in surprise. "You sure?"

"Yes I'm sure! I just saw him out the window! Don't… don't make the jump, let me take the guns. I have to take him!" she sounded hesitant but at the same time determined.

"Are you crazy!?" he yelled back. "This ship has guns but it sure as hell wasn't designed to take on anything like this monster!" The ship gave another violent rock as Ridley rammed into them yet again.

"I don't care! Just--"

"LISTEN TO ME!" he shouted, causing her to freeze. "We've got something else to do right now. Staying here'll only get us killed. What good will that do us, huh? What good will it do _you_? Do you think that'll satisfy the vengeance you want for your parents? No, I didn't think so."

Another harder hit shook them as he looked into that troubled face filled with a mess of emotions. She was torn between what she wanted so bad to do and what she knew was realistic at the moment. Torn between fear and pure hatred. "We go now. Your chance will come," he looked firmly at her as he reached for the button that would send them speeding far away from their threat. She just turned her head and gave a small nod. Looking back out, the last thing she saw before they jumped into hyperspace was the silhouette of the dragon against the stars.

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**Alright, so while I didn't do much to this part, I did change a few minor things. Even then it wasn't a lot. I still feel like I need to work on my dialog and fleshing out my characters properly in the way I envision them, but I figure I'm not going to be overly picky like it's my habit to do. Instead I'm going to do my best to focus on getting the gist of it out and then as I gain more experience I'll go back and touch it up. That's one thing this is for anyway, right? To help people get better by getting critical comments from other writers.**

**Oh, and since this wasn't really so much a new chapter as a revision of part of an old one, I feel like I should go ahead and post a little more. Yep, three chapters at once.**


	5. Birthday

**This one…. Well….. just read it and I'll say more at the end.**

**I don't own Samus or Adam or blah blah blah all the Metroid universe stuff.**

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I laid there in bed having just woken up, enjoying the comfort and security of being buried beneath the covers. Looking around the room everything was still blurry and out of focus. I sat up groggily and rubbed at my eyes and tried to clear my head to remember what was special about today and then it hit me; it was my birthday!

Jumping out of bed, I ran through the house and into the kitchen where my Mommy and Daddy were. I could smell something faint, like an old memory of something from long ago, but it smelled delicious. Then I saw that they had fixed my favorite breakfast for a special treat. I said thank you and they both smiled and talked about how fast I was growing as I sat there and quickly ate.

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It was later in the day and I opened my eyes to find all of my friends outside in the shade of the trees in our yard. Decorations filled the trees with many colors, though appearing faded, and presents of different shapes and sizes sat in a pile. I was so excited playing with my friends and tearing open my presents that I didn't even really focus on each and everything that went on.

The present that my mommy and Daddy gave me was beautiful, though. It was a small, platinum, star-shaped locket. I couldn't get it open so Daddy helped me with it and showed me the inside which had a short looping video of the three of us laughing and having fun in our special place in the woods. I wrapped my arms around my Daddy's neck and hugged him tight and then did the same with Mommy. It was the best present ever.

It was then that the sky started to get dark. A black cloud blocked the sun and I could hear a low rumble. This wasn't a normal cloud, though. It looked like it was moving in strange ways, almost like it was alive. All of a sudden everybody started screaming and running around. I didn't know what was going on or what to do and I started to get scared. Mommy picked me up in her arms, though, and held me close where I could feel her warmth. She kissed daddy and said goodbye and then he ran off somewhere. I asked her where he was going and she just told me that everything would be alright and he would be back soon, that he was just doing his job.

As Mommy carried me, running across the yard and up the hill toward the house, I began to hear screams even worse than the ones from before – screams that made something inside of me twist into a knot. As I watched over her shoulder I saw something moving along the edge of the woods. Suddenly a dark monster jumped out and started running toward us. Its eyes glowed red and drool dripped from its snarling jaws. Too afraid to look at the beast, I screamed and buried my head into mommy's shoulder. She turned around to see what I had screamed about and let out a gasp when she saw it as well.

She continued running back to the house as fast as her legs would carry her, but as I snagged a quick peek I could see that the monster was catching up quickly. Just as we reached the house and got inside, the terrible creature was beating and clawing at the door. Breathing heavily, Mommy carried me further into the house and put me in our special safe room. You could see through the window out of the room but not into it so I watched while she ran to go get something.

When I could see her again Mommy was holding a gun and waiting in front of the door to the room I was in. It seemed like a long time passed and then that's when the front door broke down and the scary monster came into the house. She shot him a bunch of times and was able to beat him. I heard her tell me not to worry that she would protect me no matter what. More of the bad creatures started coming in and I could see red eyes everywhere in the room. Mommy kept shooting the bad creatures and was winning but there were too many and they were starting to hurt her. I cried and beat on the door yelling at them to stop hurting Mommy but they wouldn't listen. They just kept clawing at her.

Somebody else came into the house, though, and I could see that it was Daddy. He would save her. I just knew he would because he was really brave. He beat them all and made them stop hurting Mommy but she looked like she was hurt a lot and had lots of bad cuts. She was crying, hugging Daddy tight and he was telling her that it would be ok and asking where I was. I saw him look over at the door where I was at and he smiled at me even though he couldn't see me. He picked her up gently and moved her over to the corner of the room where I couldn't see.

Then the scariest thing ever broke down part of the house. It was like a dragon with very sharp claws and lots of teeth. His eyes were glowing red too, but they were worse than the other monsters. He let out a huge roar the made everything vibrate and looked angry at Daddy like he had done something bad to him. Daddy shot at him a lot but he just got even more mad and stomped over to him.

Daddy yelled words that I didn't understand at the monster and kept shooting at its face. I could hear Mommy crying and screaming over in the corner. Then it was like everything started moving really slow as I stood there watching. The dragon stuck its head down, biting Daddy and picking him up in his mouth. I cried and cried, beating on the door and yelling at him to put Daddy down but he couldn't hear me and wouldn't stop. He didn't care.

Then he looked over at where I was while he was still holding Daddy in his mouth with blood dripping onto the ground. I couldn't move or make a sound as he stared. I was frozen in place. That's when I saw Daddy look at me and say something, coughing up blood when he did, but I couldn't hear him. I cried out to him but he just laid his head back down. Then the dragon shook its head back and forth slinging Daddy around like one of my dolls before throwing him over beside Mommy was.

Letting out another loud roar he went to where they were, tearing up more of the house as he moved. Mommy had been crying the whole time and now she was screaming louder than I had ever heard anybody scream before. I heard her scream out my name, and then she got quiet and I couldn't hear anything but the growling monster. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't stop crying. I wanted so bad to scream out but I was too scared to even breath and I covered my eyes.

After a minute I heard something near the door and when I looked back up at the window I finally screamed again. The dragon's big red eye and his big mouth full of sharp, red teeth were there. I almost thought I could hear a voice in my mind as he let out another loud roar.

Suddenly Samus violently jerked into an upright position in her bed. She found herself sill staring into that horrid nightmare of a face before it faded from her vision. She looked around and found herself back in her room aboard the Astraeus. She wrapped her arms around herself to try and steady the shaking of her body. Sweat and tears were also running down her face. _It was just a dream,_ she kept telling herself. But even though it was a dream, however terrible, it was not just any normal dream and that was what didn't allow it to fade from her memory.

She tightly grasped the locket that hung around her neck, holding it close to her heart as the tears continued to pour down her face.

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**So, this obviously used a different style for most of the chapter. This is basically just me experimenting because I felt that the way I was writing it before just didn't feel right for the whole dream aspect. I'm not quite sure if this is how I want it as a final version, but I thought that I would see how it worked. **

**I also tried to bring as much emotion into it as I could using the style that I did. I'm not really sure that I was able to put as much emotion into it as I was going for since it would really take a lot, but hopefully it's at least in the right direction. **

**For those not as savvy about Metroid history, this is basically my interpretation of what actually happened canon-wise. If some of you were around back when I first posted something a long time ago, then you would have seen something similar, though I admit that was pretty much a blatant rip-off of the manga. Comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated as always. Any of my work on here is going to be open to change since I tend to not do many drafts before posting something.**


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